This invention relates to a holder for retaining a cigarette pack to an object, particularly to a belt, shirt pocket and the like worn by a person.
In the last few years it has been increasingly harder to buy clothes, for example, t-shirts with pockets in which packs of cigarettes can be satisfactorily carried by a person. It can be seen often on the street and at work that smokers place cigarettes in sleeves, down shirts, and in back pocketsxe2x80x94which can cause cigarettes to be crushed. This is especially prevalent in a factory environment.
There is, therefore a need for a person that smokes to have a method by which a pack of cigarettes can be safely carried without risk of damage to or loss of the cigarettes, while the pack remains readily retrievable to the person without the need for special expensive apparatus or clothing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cigarette pack holder which provides for relatively safe protection from loss or damage to the cigarettes.
It is a further object to provide said holder which is conveniently portable and retrievable by a person.
Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides a cigarette pack holder adapted to receive in combination a cigarette pack containing cigarettes,
said holder comprising a rectangularly-shaped housing having
a planar front wall;
an opposing rear wall;
a pair of opposing planar side walls connected to said front and rear walls;
a planar base at one end of said housing;
said walls and said base defining therebetween a chamber to receive said pack in removable engagement;
an open-ended top at the other end of said housing through which said pack can operably pass into and out of said chamber;
said base having portions defining an aperture of requisite shape and size to enable entry of a human digit to effect displacement of said pack within said chamber; and
retaining means connected to said rear wall adapted to be removably retained by an object worn by a person.
Preferably, the holder is formed of a semi-rigid, resilient material such as a plastics material, for example, a polyethylene, polyethyleneterephthalate, or more preferably, polypropylene; or a thin metal, such as, for example, aluminum or steel.
A preferred retaining means comprises an elongate lug integrally formed with and resiliently displaceable from said rear wall to retain said pack in removable engagement to said object.
A typical object, for example, is an article of attire, such as clothing, such as a belt, pocket or other part of a shirt, pants, trousers, sweaters and the like.
In more preferred embodiments, the rear wall has a portion defining a lug-receiving aperture, which, when the holder is not clipped to an object, receives the lug in a co-planar manner under the resilient flexibility of the material of the holder such that the rear wall is essentially smooth and compact. This construction enables the holder to better fit into a person""s pocket or the like when it is inappropriate or inconvenient to clip the holder to the belt or the like.
Yet more preferred embodiments have an upstanding retaining member, such as a button, bumper or the like, on the inner surface of the lug at a lower part thereof, whereby the inner surface, the upstanding retaining member and rear wall constitute an object releasable embracing means. Preferably, the button, bumper and the like is integrally formed with the lug. This feature enhances the retention of the object within the resultant loop in the holder and reduces the risk of the object slipping off the holder when the person is active or sits down. When desired, the loop of the clip can be opened by the pressing of the lug at its upper inner surface to release the object.
Thus, the presence of the upstanding member provides for a most efficacious, secure, accessible, non-bulky holder.
In a further feature, the invention provides a holder as hereinabove defined in combination with a pack of cigarettes.
The cigarette pack may be tightly held within the holder or, more preferably, in just sufficient fitting engagement with the walls of the holder as to be retained therein but readily displaced therefrom in whole or in part by means of a finger or thumb.
In this specification, the term xe2x80x9cdigitxe2x80x9d includes a finger or thumb.
In this specification the term xe2x80x9ccigarettexe2x80x9d includes cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and the like.
The holder may be readily made by processes known in the art, such as for example, injection molding; or by the cutting out of a suitably shaped blank form, sealing and subsequent adhesive bonding or welding of the xe2x80x9cboxedxe2x80x9d holder.